Thomas looked up from behind the desk, his voice dangerously low.
“They are completely different, Shawn, and you offered materials that fail basic structural codes for that project,” Thomas said.
“Come on, let us not blow a few minor numbers completely out of proportion,” Shawn scoffed, crossing his arms.
“Those numbers determine whether a roof stays up or collapses onto human beings,” Lucas fired back.
Shawn scowled with rising hostility.
“Ever since Paige delayed our wedding, you two have been searching for any petty excuse to make me look bad!” Shawn sneered.
Thomas brought his palm down flat on the wood.
“Listen to me very carefully, young man,” Thomas warned. “This discussion has nothing to do with my daughter, but everything to do with reckless insubordination and endangering our commercial reputation.”
“If your company actually trusted me with real authority, these miscommunications would never happen in the first place!” Shawn yelled.
“Professional trust is earned through discipline and diligence, not by attempting to trade on my daughter’s surname,” Lucas answered firmly.
The technical crew scrambled to compile a corrected bid, and Lucas phoned the client personally to take full institutional responsibility. Unfortunately, the damage was irreversible, as the builder had already awarded the contract to an Atlanta competitor to avoid delays.
Summit Materials lost a monumental account, yet Shawn immediately called Paige to play the aggrieved victim.
“Your arrogant brother just blew a massive contract and now he is pinning the entire failure on me!” Shawn raged into the receiver.
“Did you send out unverified technical data without authorization?” Paige asked calmly.
“That is totally beside the point, so you need to order your dad to fix this mess right now!” Shawn demanded.
“Shawn, if you made a severe professional mistake, you must answer for it yourself,” Paige replied steadily.
“Since when do you take their side over your future husband?” Shawn hissed.
Paige stared at her reflection in the glass window, remembering how she used to plead with her father to give Shawn endless chances.
“I am not taking anyone’s side,” Paige said with newfound resolve. “I simply believe an adult must carry the weight of his own actions.”
She disconnected the call before he could spit another excuse.
Over the next few days, Human Resources compiled Shawn’s repeated attendance violations, unfulfilled duties, and unauthorized bid submission. The department director, Karen, advised Thomas that the dismissal must rest entirely on objective professional failures to remain legally ironclad.
Thomas nodded in complete agreement with the protocol.
“I refuse to penalize him out of personal spite,” Thomas stated clearly. “I only want our company to process this termination exactly as we would for any negligent employee.”
After a thorough audit confirmed gross negligence, the company finalized the termination paperwork. Shawn was summoned into the conference room three days later to receive the bad news.
“Are you honestly firing me right now?” Shawn asked in total shock.
“The grounds for your dismissal are outlined clearly on these documents,” Karen explained professionally. “You will receive your accrued compensation, and you hold the legal right to file an appeal through the state labor board if you choose.”
“I will sue this entire company until you go bankrupt, and Thomas will beg for mercy!” Shawn threatened, slamming his chair back.
“You are welcome to pursue any legal counsel you deem appropriate,” Karen responded without flinching.
Shawn stormed through the glass doors, spotting Lucas standing by the water cooler.
“Are you satisfied now that you ruined your future brother-in-law’s career?” Shawn spat viciously.
Lucas regarded him with quiet pity.
“Shawn, do you truly still fail to understand that your work performance was the only issue here?” Lucas asked.
“Your father will be forced to hire me back as an executive the moment the wedding wraps up,” Shawn boasted smugly.
Lucas paused for a moment before offering a faint, knowing smirk.
“What wedding are you talking about, Shawn?” Lucas asked softly.
Shawn assumed Lucas was merely attempting to rattle his nerves, completely unaware that the reception hall had already refunded the booking deposit and the caterers had cancelled their services.
That evening, Shawn slouched through Brenda’s front door with his head hanging low.
“They fired me from the company, Mom,” Shawn muttered bitterly.
Brenda gasped, grabbing her cheeks in sheer horror.
“This is an absolute catastrophe!” Brenda shrieked. “You need to run over to Paige’s house this second and beg for forgiveness!”
“She stopped answering my calls hours ago,” Shawn groaned.
“Then throw yourself on her porch, weep like a baby, and swear that you cannot survive without her love!” Brenda urged frantically.
Just then, Tara walked out of the hallway holding a colorful automotive brochure.
“Hey Shawn, when can I visit the office to meet my new staff, because I already applied for a loan on a brand-new convertible?” Tara asked excitedly.
“You are never working there because I just lost my job!” Shawn snapped furiously.
Tara’s jaw dropped in absolute shock.
“What do you mean I cannot work there, when Mom promised I would be the marketing director?” Tara yelled.
Brett poked his head out of the pantry with a stunned expression.
“I literally gave my two-week notice to my current boss yesterday because I thought I was becoming a senior partner!” Brett complained loudly.
Brenda slammed both hands down onto the kitchen counter.
“All of you be quiet this instant!” Brenda shouted. “Our only priority right now is making sure that wedding takes place no matter what!”
Shawn stared at his mother and siblings, realizing for the first time that none of them cared about his personal happiness; they only mourned the lavish lifestyle they had planned to extract from the Campbell family.
Yet his stubborn pride convinced him that Paige was too weak to ever let him walk away permanently.
The following afternoon, Paige sent him a brief text message:
“We need to talk on Saturday at four o’clock at the bakery terrace in Franklin Commons. Hannah will be sitting with me.”
Shawn texted back within seconds:
“Sounds wonderful, sweetheart. It is high time we put this silly family drama behind us, and I will bring several new concepts for our wedding reception.”
On Saturday afternoon, Shawn arrived dressed in his sharpest button-down shirt, fully convinced he could charm his way back into Paige’s good graces. Paige sat across the wooden table beside Hannah, dressed in a simple cotton sundress and flat sandals.
Shawn wrinkled his nose the moment he pulled out a chair.
“Could you really not bother to wear high heels today?” Shawn asked with annoyance. “You know perfectly well how much better you look when you give yourself some extra height.”
Paige met his gaze with calm stillness. That familiar critique, which once would have made her stammer apologies, now served only as absolute validation of her choice.
“Take a seat, Shawn,” Paige said quietly.
Shawn signaled the server for an iced coffee before leaning forward with a charming smile.
“I have already mapped out our entire solution,” Shawn began eagerly. “Your father can bring me back into regional logistics, and we can quietly handle the legal vows at the courthouse this weekend before throwing the lavish party later this autumn.”
“There will be no wedding at all, Shawn,” Paige answered evenly.
Shawn chuckled nervously, waving his hand dismissively.
“Please do not start throwing another emotional tantrum,” Shawn scoffed.
“This is not a dramatic tantrum, but a permanent choice,” Paige replied.
“If this is about that stupid job, your dad and I can work things out!” Shawn insisted.
Hannah reached into her purse and retrieved her phone.
“There is an audio file you need to hear before you say another word,” Hannah stated firmly.
The moment Shawn’s own recorded voice began playing through the phone speaker, all color drained from his face. The recording clearly transmitted his vicious jokes about Paige’s physical walk, Brenda’s blueprint to seize company leadership, and their disgusting scheme to take a mistress after the ceremony.
“Did you spy on me and record my private conversation?” Shawn gasped, glaring at Hannah with burning rage.
“I was standing inside the next dressing stall trying on dresses,” Hannah responded sharply. “I never stalked you, but I certainly refused to let you destroy my sister’s life in secret.”
“That is an outrageous invasion of my privacy!” Shawn shouted, attracting stares from neighboring tables.
“We have no interest in posting your voice online,” Hannah said coldly. “Paige simply deserved to hear the vile things you say when you think she cannot defend herself.”
Shawn spun back toward Paige, his voice suddenly desperate and frantic.
“Paige, baby, you cannot honestly believe any of that foolishness because my mother and I were merely making sarcastic jokes!” Shawn pleaded.
Paige felt a sharp ache in her heart, but her voice remained unbroken.
“Was it an innocent joke when you confessed that looking at my body disgusted you?” Paige asked directly.
“Men talk roughly when they are blowing off steam, you know that!” Shawn stammered.
“And was it just blowing off steam when you calculated how to steal my father’s business for your siblings?” Paige continued.
“My mother exaggerates everything, Paige, you know how dramatic she gets!” Shawn scrambled.
“And what about promising to take a taller mistress once you secured our family money?” Paige pressed further.
Shawn looked around the terrace anxiously, tugging at his collar.
“I am not going to sit here and debate hypothetical nonsense that never even happened!” Shawn spat.
